“Harness the power of our common sense before it is too late.”

What a strange title to use in this situation regarding a wind turbine next to the school in the town of Berne. I’m not sure who penned last week’s editorial, as it was published unsigned, but I have attended all of the recent BKW meetings that involved this subject and I have to wonder if the author of this article attended any.

Common sense would be not placing a wind turbine so close to a school as to pose a danger to our children whom we cherish so much. If you think there is no risk, look up Perkins High School in Ohio. Their three turbines went live in February. One of them self-destructed three days later, sending broken blades flying. Amy Pokorny stated at a recent BKW board meeting that it was a risk we need to take. I disagree. I don’t take unnecessary risks with my own children and I certainly wouldn’t force people to take risks with theirs.

Common sense would be not placing a wind turbine alongside a mountain, in a valley behind the elementary playground. All of the wind facilities I have visited place their turbines on hills to catch as much wind as possible.

Common sense would be not placing a wind turbine alongside a mountain, in a valley behind the elementary playground. All of the wind facilities I have visited place their turbines on hills to catch as much wind as possible.

Common sense would be placing solar panels all along the roof of BKW, and on that point, we agree. I hope the BKW School Board, working with Honeywell, will be able to do so.

Common sense is what the BKW Board used in making their decision. It was not a simple decision to make, and one the Board did not rush into. Members from Helderberg Community Energy (HCE), a small vocal group with the agenda of placing industrial-sized wind turbines in our towns, were all given an opportunity to voice their opinions. Fortunately, the BKW School Board placed the health and safety of our children above the ill-conceived placement of a wind turbine, and chose to spend our tax dollars in a more logical and responsible manner.

You mention the research of HCE and the data they have collected. Preliminary data has actually shown this area to be in the lower end of “fair” for wind. Despite the feeling that the wind is always blowing here in the hilltowns, it is still marginal at best for energy production. Johnson Controls’ claim of 30% efficiency for the turbine was exaggerated and without documentation of any sort. No place in New York State has numbers that high – the facility at Tug Hill is in the range of less than 20%, and Fenner is even lower. Common sense would be that the hilltowns is the wrong place.

You state that Helderberg Community Energy is a not-for-profit agency. It is not; it's an LLC. Not-for-profit a legal status granted by the IRS. The term should not be used in any other manner. This may have been a misunderstanding by the writer of the article, but is an important distinction that should be noted.

The tactics and issues created by wind developers has been the focus of NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for quite some time, and were once again in the headlines last week. I would think that people would be curious as to why an industry that passes itself off as so environmentally friendly and community oriented would attract so much of the Attorney General’s attention.

Russ Pokorny stated that “a lot of people are pretty panicky, and I think it’s based on misinformation.” I disagree. The people who were misinformed were the officials of Cohocton, NY who rushed to site a wind farm in their town, and used eminent domain to take over people’s property. The situation in Cohocton is now so bad that Democratic Congressman Eric Massa, 29th Congressional District, says he is overwhelmed by complaints from constituents, both landowners who originally welcomed turbines on their properties and adjoining landowners, who can no longer live in their homes. Misinformed were the officials of Mars Hill, ME who decided public hearings on turbine placement would be a waste of time, forcing residents to stand by and watch the top of their mountain blown off by the wind developers. Apparently awaiting the results of Rensselaerville’s Wind Study Committee, updating Berne’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, and educating the public with scientific truths is considered panicking.

Common sense would dictate that a town would not hire the attorney that was involved with the drafting of the wind ordinance in Cohocton that has produced so many of the problems that Congressman Massa now has to deal with. Unfortunately, the Town of New Scotland has done just that. They have appointed Todd Mathes, a pro-wind attorney that was listed on Helderberg Community Energy’s website as an advisor. Can he have the town’s best interest at heart while drafting an ordinance that will directly affect the organization with which he was so recently associated?

If you’ve lived in this area for any length of time, you have come to appreciate the beautiful Helderberg escarpment. If you live in the Town of New Scotland or anywhere in the hilltowns, you need to be aware that plans are underway to place rows of wind turbines all along the ridgeline of the hilltowns just across the town line in New Scotland. This so-called “Wolf Hill Project” will line the pockets of the large wind companies who make, sell and install the units, and perhaps as few as 4 to 5 landowners, some of which are members of H.C.E. In the end, it will destroy something that generations have enjoyed – the peaceful and quiet beauty of our hilltowns.

Common sense? I don’t think so.

Ronald Jordan
Helderberg Community Watch LLC

The March winds have just started to blow and the big wind industry is blowing even harder trying to push its way into the Hilltowns. Rensselaerville has a wind committee in full swing, working at the furious pace of meeting every week until the process is complete. The Berne town board is about to vote on a one-year moratorium on wind power construction in the town. They are also reviewing their comprehensive plan, and that committee will be soliciting feedback from the members of the town, and will use that feedback to decide if or where wind turbines, both industrial and residential, should be allowed in the town. New York State Law and legal president require these steps to be taken and require all zoning to be in agreement with each town’s comprehensive plan. Knox’s present comprehensive plan, like Berne’s present plan, focus on the preservation of the rural quality and character of the town, and do not address any wind facilities. However, Knox’s planning board has been discussing the possibility of passing a wind ordinance for the past several months.

Most people would believe that in order to protect their town and its people from these big wind companies we must hurry up and pass a wind ordinance. This has been repeated over and over at recent town and planning board meetings. In actuality, the comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances that currently exist in the towns of Rensselaerville, Berne and Knox do not permit the construction of industrial wind turbines. The first step in allowing these 300-450 foot turbines into our towns is to pass a wind ordinance.

Understandably, the proposed construction of cell towers in East Berne and Knox has generated some legitimate concerns, but their intrusiveness is miniscule in comparison to a 450 foot tall industrial wind turbine whose blades are the size of a modern 747 passenger plane revolving around on the top of its tower. Industrial wind turbines are capable of producing excessive noise, both audible and inaudible, damaging the view shed, destroying and fracturing wildlife habitat cleared for the turbines and the additional high tension lines required for connection to the electrical grid.

Dan Driscoll stated his concerns very well in his letter to the editor last week, and people had better start doing their homework like this gentleman has. There are consequences in allowing industrial wind facilities in our towns and once these decisions are made, the changes will be drastic and permanent. I for one do not want to tell my grandchildren how beautiful and quiet this town used to be before they were born, and I for one will not have to make an excuse as to why I stood by and did nothing to stop them.

Helderberg Community Watch has recently updated its web-site with a short three minute video produced from clips from the full length version available on the website. People are busy today, but you do have three minutes to spare to see for yourself. Go to helderbergcommunitywatch.org, and look at this video. It is done by people in three different states, all telling about their personal experiences with industrial wind. Then check out the other information that is available on this site and its related links. Don’t think for a minute what happens in your neighboring town does not affect you. When an industrial wind facility is allowed in one town, it often spreads from town to town like a disease. Look at the pictures of the Maple Ridge Wind Facility in Tug Hill. It did not affect just one town; it spread, and developers are planning on adding more turbines.

Hilltown residents need to start getting involved and they need to do it soon. Attend your town board meetings and planning board meetings, and bring your neighbors with you. Residents of Berne also need to attend the Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee meetings. You can and will make a difference. You don’t need to say much, just give your name and tell them why you are there and what you want or don’t want done to your town. Town officials give much of their free time serving on our town boards and its various committees, and they perform an often thankless job. Too many nights when you may be home in front of your TV, they are out late at night for yet another meeting. We are at a critical time. They need your input, and they need it now.

Next week, on Tuesday the 10^th the Wind Study Committee meets in Rensselaerville at 7:00pm, and the Knox Town Board meets at 7:30pm. On Wednesday the 11^th there is a public hearing in Berne for the Wind Moratorium at 7:00pm with a regular Town Board meeting to follow. On Thursday the 12^th the Rensselaerville Town Board meets at 7:00pm, and the Knox Planning Board meets at 7:30pm. Please attend the meetings in your town. Do it soon, before it is too late.

Ronald J. Jordan
Resident, Town of Berne
Volunteer
Helderberg Community Watch

I have lived in the Town of Berne for the past 27 years and am deeply concerned with the issues that face our hilltowns and with the prospect of large scale wind development and its consequences.

My interest in wind energy started when I was considering installing a small wind turbine on my own property and I have been studying the issues of wind power ever since. I gathered my information on wind energy from many different sources such as books by Paul Gipe, a world renowned expert on wind energy, and from magazines on solar and wind development. I have spent countless hours of research on the internet and have found a wealth of information in the Danish, UK and German sites where they have been living with wind development for years now. It is easy to just go to a NYSERDA site or other equally biased sites pro or con, but the best information still comes from overseas.

Last fall I made the three hour trip to see the Maple Ridge facility at Tug Hill, NY. I saw the destruction of wooded areas, and the marring of scenic vistas that can never be repaired. I saw many areas posted, gated and locked – off limits except to the people that service the turbines. I spoke to people with these units on their own property, and to those people that are forced to live next to the turbines and who receive none of their monetary benefits. I spoke to people that feel they can no longer sell their homes and who have neighbors that will no longer speak to them because of the wind turbines. I encourage you to make this trip yourself. It is a day well spent.

I have seen video after video of people that have had to live with these wind plants in their back yards, and their stories are all the same. They live hundreds of miles apart in different states, the wind facilities were installed and are owned by different companies, but their stories, their complaints, and their advice is all the same: stay informed, get educated, get organized, get involved and under no circumstances let this happen in your town.

My personal education is as a Pharmacist, and between five years of college and 26 years of practice I have learned to be skeptical of all sources of information. I take a drug company’s claims of low incidences of side effects and adverse reactions with the knowledge that that information is coming from the company trying to sell a product. If I want the unvarnished truth, I ask my patients, the people that are actually taking the medication, and not the manufacturer that is selling it. When patient after patient returns with complaints about a certain drug, I take notice and usually, after a period of time, their complaints will be slowly added to the literature.

Some would rather listen to an industrial or community wind developer selling a bill of goods on how great it would be to have an industrial wind facility in our backyard. I will listen to the people that already have them in their backyards, to those that have been forced to live with the consequences, and I will take their advice. I have never had a patient come in and lie to me about a side effect yet, but I have had my share of drug reps shovel their company propaganda on me, and I can certainly tell the difference.

Helderberg Community Watch is an organization that is made up of local citizens that are concerned with protecting their town, their community and their environment. In no way does this group or its members profit from their activities. Large scale wind developers like Shell, Rhizome or Horizon are all concerned with making millions of dollars in profit. Individual landowners that are trying to site turbines on their own property are being misled, and with the prospect of some potential money for themselves, they want the rest of the community to acquiesce to their desires.

I do not think that a handful of landowners in a town as large as Berne have the right to stifle the debate on what should be done to our town. No one has the right to devalue their neighbor’s property, disrupt their sleep, destroy the community’s viewscape or harm its wildlife. No one has the right to destroy our life long expectations of peace and quiet or the gentle tranquility of our hilltowns.

I encourage everyone to do their research, whether at the library or on the internet, and to take the time and go visit a wind facility for yourself. Attend your town meetings. The planning, discussion and drafting of if and how this is going to be allowed is going on right now. I encourage everyone to visit HelderbergCommunityWatch.org and helderbergcommunityenergy.com. When you are on HCW’s site look at all of the links, including the ones that show the debate from both sides and the links to solar sites and other alternatives. You decide who is being biased and who is just telling you like it is – the company propaganda or the testimonials from real people who have nothing to gain from distorting the truth. When you are on HCW’s site, request a free DVD and listen to the stories of the people living with wind turbines in their backyards, before it’s too late for us.

Let’s stop the name calling and stick with the facts. HCW is concerned with our town, its people, the view we see each time we step out of our door, and how we leave the hilltowns to future generations.

We don’t need to put calico hoods on our heads and grab our torches and tin horns … yet. But we can get organized, stand together, and stop the threats to our property. It worked over 150 years ago and it will work again.

Ronald J. Jordan